The rain clouds and gray skies that have plagued Boulder so far this month made way for bright blue skies and radiant sunshine on Monday as some 52,000 runners took to the city's streets for the annual Bolder Boulder 10K race.

In one of the wettest springs on record, runners rejoiced at their good fortune and jogged in shorts, T-shirts, tank tops and sunglasses — no need for umbrellas or ponchos, as some had feared.

"It felt pretty good," said Kent Fischmann after finishing the race. "I was happy it was nice out. I thought it would be cold and rainy today. It was nice and cool, it wasn't windy. Beautiful. It felt great."

Temperatures were in the low 40s for many of the early waves and came close to 60 degrees for the Memorial Day tribute ceremony.

Even so, Ben Payne glistened with sweat as he climbed the steep hill on Folsom Street and entered the stadium to win the men's citizens race before 8 a.m.

Payne, of Colorado Springs, finished in 30 minutes, 40.3 seconds, the fastest time in the men's citizens race since 2011. Alamosa's Brittni Hutton won the women's citizens race in 34:31.39.

The wheelchair races saw two repeat champions in Josh George and Amanda McGrory, who have now topped their heat for two years in a row. George finished in 23:20.45 and McGrory won in 27:07.74.

It was good day for Ethiopians in Boulder as Belete Assefa claimed his second men's pro race title in 29:04.13 and Meskerem Assefa won the women's pro race in 33:31.09.

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Of course, others took the race a bit less seriously. A speedy red Power Ranger decked out in a unitard, face mask and goggles kept up with the lead group for several kilometers before peeling off.

Not many early morning runners were willing to splash through the time-honored slip-and-slide, though its usage picked up as the day went on and temperatures increased.

Though they're typically very competitive, Courtney Durow and Cam McWilliam of Denver decided to make Monday's race more entertaining with some very furry — and very hot — costumes.

"We do a lot of races during the year seriously, so we thought the Bolder Boulder is a good one to have fun and let loose and stuff," McWilliam said. "So we went to the costume shop yesterday. We wanted something we could do as a pair, so yeah, it was Yeti and Bigfoot. Today is all about having fun and not taking it too seriously."

Members of the small group "couldn't run" until about four years ago when they began working out together, Clark said. Now they all motivate each other to stay in shape.

In her first-ever Bolder Boulder, Clark said she was happy to see so many groups lining the streets to cheer, play music and provide entertainment.

"It's the spirit of our town," Weller said.

As usual, runners, walkers and pedalers of all shapes, sizes, ages and speeds descended on Folsom Field to best last year's time or to spend the day with family and friends.

In total, 52,015 people registered for the race and 46,542 finished, according to race officials.

Runners came from all over the world, too, including 74-year-old Joe McGillivray, who traveled to Boulder from Albuquerque, N.M.

"Steve and Linda Bennet help their daughter Eloise over the finish line of the 2015 Bolder Boulder on Monday Memorial Day.
Paul Aiken Staff Photographer May 25 2015" ("Paul Aiken")

"I did it faster than last year and I'm getting older," McGillivray said, smiling.

Boulder resident Stuart Geer credits the race with encouraging his entire family to start running. It's a yearly tradition now.

His 11-year-old son Gavin, who ran a few waves behind his dad, said he likes running with so many people.

"It got me back into running and it got our whole family into running," Stuart Geer said. "It's all-inclusive, it's for people of all speeds and abilities and it got us excited to run year-round, so it means a lot."

On his head, Gavin sported a rainbow mohawk for the race that he said he found in his family's basement. He wasn't sure if it would make him faster, but he said the race is "all fun," so he wore it anyway.

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